The Malik Report

I stepped out to do a little, "I was boogery and the mom ran out of pop" drug-store run and I was surprisingly greeted by something I haven't gotten much of late: a stiff breeze and non-wind-noise silence.

Nobody swearing at each other in the comments sections, nobody yelling past each other on Twitter. Nobody saying, "Either go for it or blow it all up, this team is STALE!" or, "Promote everyone, waive everyone, trade everyone, fire everyone!"

It was nice. As of today, the Detroit Red Wings are a day away from a trade deadline which will probably provide no activity other than the team recalling Brian Lashoff from Grand Rapids, and a practice which will precede a 2-game road trip through Phoenix and Nashville, and, somehow, the injury-addled and youth movement-enduring Wings are in seventh place in the Western Conference, but are also only 3 points out of 4th place.

Sometimes I wonder whether what the Red Wings' coaches, management and players have admitted is as close to a rebuilding and/or transitional year as we're going to see here in Detroit, at least when the team's asking over $135 for seats on the glass and season ticket-holders tell me that playoff prices are going up, has registered with the fan base at all.

Especially over the past two months, the ever-twitchy, ever-bipolar Red Wings nation has begun to sound like Detroit Lions fans during the 0-and-16-or-nearly-so seasons. With every lineup change or other team's recall that's met with disapproval, you can practically hear the knives, pitchforks and torches come out, with fans ready to snap at each other and march on Ken Holland and Mike Babcock's homes (as if they're the only people who make decisions for the team, and as if they're the ones scoring goals and making saves).

If the Red Wings' management is anything, it is perhaps too consistent and too truthful with its message.

After the team struck out on Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, we were told that the team would take its "depth" signings (see: Mikael Samuelsson, Jonas Gustavsson, Jordin Tootoo and, eventually, Carlo Colaiacovo) and ease into a transitional year.

After most of its "depth" signings and many of its key players got injured, the team reluctantly embraced what is as close to a youth movement as we're ever going to see in Detroit. The present iteration of the Wings' roster includes two 30-plus-year-olds on defense, 28 and 29-year-old goaltenders and six of fifteen total forwards over the age of 30. By Red Wings standards, you can't get much "greener."

And Ken Holland, Mike Babcock and the rest of the Wings' coaches and management have indicated that they plan on riding said youth movement out, attempting to re-sign Jimmy Howard and Damien Brunner, reassessing the team's future after whatever playoff run this team embarks upon, and then meaningfully addressing the team's need for a top-pair defenseman and a top-six, scoring forward who's big and strong by closely watching the cap compliance buy-outs as so many teams are in a crap-ton of cap trouble in terms of retaining their best players even if the cap were not to drop from $70.2 million to $64.3 million this summer.

Do I like that "let's stand pat and see what our kids can do come playoff time, and then make room for full-time promotions for Nyquist, Andersson and Tatar this summer, and maybe see if we can add to the mix" philosophy?

I'm not necessarily thrilled with it, but as a Wings fan who's seen the team go through significant ups and downs over my 22-year tenure as a fan, I understand why the organization's preaching a "steady as she goes, and player performances on the ice will dictate what moves we make off the ice after and only after we battle our way through this rebuilding/transitional year" mantra.

That's the way the team operates, and as someone who battles significant chronic illnesses on a daily basis, I don't have the energy to go bat-shit insane any time that the team makes or does not make a personnel move that I disagree with. I wouldn't have the energy to get out of bed, never mind do this job, if I reacted as violently as some Wings fans seem to do on such an incredibly regular basis.

It seems to throw many Wings fans into fits. It seems to make many of you so angry that you seem ready to burn your Wings jerseys and stomp away in anger, never to return to watching hockey again UNLESS the Wings make a BIG move between today and tomorrow at 3 PM EDT.

At least that's what things sound like, given your comments and Tweets.

'This team is probably going to make the playoffs but won't go far this season, and I can't take this steady trajectory anymore! Go for it or blow it up NOW!"

That ends up sounding more like, "This has been a difficult season, and I'm not only tiring of the team's inconsistency--it's also boring me--so I want the team to do something to grab my attention again."

That's definitely what the local sports talk radio station sounded like when I tried to listen to someone who watches two or three non-playoff Red Wings games a season try to instigate a plasma state amongst the already freaked-out and bubbling, boiling, Twilight-teenage-angst-worthy freak-out that is the Wings' fan base right now.

Then I switched NPR back on and went about my business.

Whether you and I like it or not, the Red Wings' management may be bunkered down at Joe Louis Arena, but given its historical tendencies and given its statements to the media of late, Ken Holland, Jim Nill, Ryan Martin, Kris Draper, Mark Howe and the pro scouts, Joe McDonell and the amateur scouts and the coaching staff aren't likely to do much more than "explore."

There aren't many top-pair defensemen or top-line goal-scoring forwards who fit into the Red Wings' roster and salary cap picture going forward, at least not without forcing the team to take on more in cap space than they'd like and without forcing the team to trade prospects who the team believes will become its foundation going forward.

So the team will probably stand pat.

My question to you, as a fellow Wings fan, is this: if the Wings do nothing, is your discontent with the team great enough that you're going to walk away over the lack of an attention-grabbing trade?

Because I don't sense that there's a significant amount of...sense...among Wings fans right now. Not many people who seem to be willing to accept that even if the team does things that you disagree with, disagreement should not necessarily yield a termination of support.

The Wings probably won't make a trade over the next 20-some hours.

The team will probably survive.

The team will probably make the playoffs, though, as currently constructed, it's not a 3 or 4-round-pushing machine.

The team will probably more meaningfully address its roster needs through free agency, as it is wont to do.

That's not the way I like it, uh uh, uh uh, but that's the way it's probably going to go down.

I can live with that, and I'm not going to bite anyone's head off simply because he or she might passionately disagree with me.

Would some of you be so kind as to slow down for a minute before going into a spastic rage over differences of opinion over the next 20-some hours? Because that would be swell.

You can keep yelling at me--that's kind of my job, to provide you with someone to yell at during times like these--but if we can crank up the respect factor among each other, that'd be greatly appreciated. Even mosh pits tend to have codes of conduct.

Wings general manager Ken Holland said that most of the deals at the deadline are “depth moves."

“Every year, there’s the odd big deal, but teams really make their moves at the June draft,” Holland said. "And then there’s some rentals."

“History tells you there’s going to be 20 to 30 trades, but there’s going to be lots of deals made for depth. I’ve had some conversations with some teams about the odd depth player. I don’t really have any interest."

The Wings already have an abundance of depth at each position. Impact players could come from their own roster in the form of injured forwards Todd Bertuzzi, Darren Helm and Mikael Samuelsson.

“Barring a setback, we’re hoping, sometime in the next couple of weeks, (Bertuzzi) is going to play,” Holland said.

“It’s been a tough year with Helm with injuries. It’s been a tough year with Bert with injuries, tough year for Sammy with injuries. We’ve been able to stay afloat, and I think our depth has kept us afloat. For me to go out and get a depth (guy)…I can’t go out and acquire somebody that’s any better than the depth we’ve got.”

John (Wings fan in Minny): With Filppula a UFA and wanting 5+ mil a year and the Wings not wanting to give it to him, is it a possibility that Kenny Holland actually trades him? KH never seems to get rid of UFAs at the deadline...

Craig Custance: John - I know the Red Wings like Jagr and Bouwmeester. With those two off the market, I don't think they'll be too active. Ken Holland is just looking for his team to get healthy and make a run. Don't see them being sellers either.

I’m with most people here, the fact we’re dissatisfied doesn’t mean we don’t care or will walk out, it means we care and want what’s best for the team. I like, even love, several of the Wings players, but my loyalty is to the Winged Wheel, not to the current roster, coaches or even Kenny. None of us are quitting on the team, but we also aren’t willing to accept the way things are run right now. I feel like they need to be better, need to aim higher. Preserving the streak means shit if we’re gonna be a perennial 1st/2nd round loser. And while I can understand standing pat at the deadline this year, there were good deals to be made. But that’s okay, what bugs me is several deadlines of doing nothing and several summers of adding Samuelsson/White/Cola/JWils and no one really that can make a big difference. I fear that that will continue. And yes, I’d rather see us take a chance, have a few seasons of being true contenders, having to rebuild, come back as contenders etc than standing pat and being good, but not good enough every year. Hopefully there’s a middle ground between those, but if forced to choose, I’d take the one where we have a legit chance at winning cups. This year it’d take a LOT, too much, no matter what we do, but starting this summer, we have to be willing to gamble.

I think everybody would be less pissy at the moment if the steady trajectory the Wings are on wasn’t a flatline. Its tough to watch season after season go by with the same rhetoric being spewed and nothing to show for it, except a steady exodus of talent.

did you see the three road games in a row the Wings won against teams better than Colorado?
see, one game does not a proper sample make. just look at the standings.
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 04/02/13 at 04:42 PM ET

2 of those 3 game also hang squarely on Jimmy’s shoulders, in my opinion. And the sample I am choosing to look at is far from one game. The Wings get trapped in there own end far too often, and for far too long because the patchwork D cant move the puck up to the forwards reliably enough. And this has happened in almost every game they have played this season, with Jimmy’s excellent play being the deciding factor in most of the W’s. Again, my opinion, but its what I see happening.

Also, yes, we’re spoiled, but that’s the way the team has taught us to be the last 20 years. And we should expect the best, to get the best out of them.

And, while this isn’t about this piece, cause you’re not one of them George, I am tired of the general feeling in the Wings fanbase that every call to fire Babcock is an overreaction after a few bad games. I’ve wanted him gone for 2+ years. I feel like he has completely lost the team. Now if we have a big roster turnover, he might be effective again, but in general he feels like the kind of coach that comes in and riles people up and it works for a few years, now both the players and Babcock seem complacent. And his tactical stubbornness bothers me too. A lot. People have figured out how to stop us. And sorry for two long rants on one post, most of this isn’t directed at you George, it’s just my general frustrations with how everything is going.

Pointless arguments on the internet aren’t my idea of a good time. Specifically why I don’t comment on any websites or care about them. But I love this site and the work you guys do and hearing what other people say about the Wings. Especially you old-timers who were lucky enough to see some legends play and win cups live (23 and not from MI, sorry). I can’t read everything obviously but I haven’t seen bad arguments or screaming or whatever you want to call it. Just what a few people said: frustration.

Didn’t hear of this site until last year but I’ve been on it ever since because I love the Wings and played hockey since I knew what hockey was. You guys do great work and I like hearing what people think/say, because my frustration is there too.

I won’t freak out on people here, the 19 of you or whatever you clowns call it are hilarious. But I do tend freak out when the Wing’s D has more holes in it than Sonny Corleone after the toll-booth scene…

Every team’s game plan vs Detroit: dump it in to either 1 or 2 of their fragile d-man and hit him hard because he will dodge the hit to make a worse play than if he took the hit. Or not get back in the zone fast enough. Call it what you will, but they’ve been leaving any goalie out to dry all year, late in games etc. Very frustrating for everyone I’m sure.

Posted by
Tony Perkis
from Drinking at Robert's Lounge with Billy Batts on 04/02/13 at 03:57 PM ET

My problem with the whole thing is Kenny constantly talking out of both sides of his mouth. Every summer we hear we need to hang on to cap space for the trade deadline, and then at the trade deadline we hear prices are too high right now, we need to wait until the summer. And it’s been the same for several years. That says to me I’m too scared to do anything. Unacceptable.

We don’t want rentals? Fine, but then how about going after people that can help for the future. Because, I’m sorry, but Sammy, Toots, and Colaiacovo are essentially just rentals to fill out a roster without actually helping the organization. Whatever direction Kenny wants to go is fine, rebuild or go for it, but staying here in no-man’s land for the past several seasons isn’t getting it done. Take Filppula for example, you don’t think this team has what it takes? Dreger reported yesterday that Columbus is looking for a top 6 forward and is willing to trade one of it’s 3 first rd picks. How about instead of letting Fil walk for nothing, or overpaying him, we get a 1st rd pick for him?

All I’m sainy is there has to be a direction, and right now there is no direction. We’ve been in neutral ever since Rafalski left, and that’s unacceptable.

Posted by
John W.
from a bubble wrap cocoon on 04/02/13 at 03:57 PM ET

Truth: Ken Holland and Co. have done anything that has really gotten the fan base excited since the Hossa signing.

There are a lot of potentially good players in the system that are all going to hit the “make or break” point of their careers at the same time, At the same time some of the guys we depended on are falling by the wayside because of declining skill sets (Cleary), physical problems (Bertuzzi), or the appearance they just don’t give a crap any more (Filppula).

If Holland really expects Nyquist, Mursak, Tatar to be the guys to step in and fill the offensive void I see us having to endure another couple of years of this inconsistent and frustrating play. They are good little players with potential, but the back end is a work in progress that is not going to in the meantime hold opponents to zero to one goals per game. I respectfully refuse to buy into the fact that it is more critical to keep these guys in the fold and do nothing to procure some help now.

With all due respect and appreciation for past Stanley Cups to the organization, I view the failure to land a proven 20 plus goal scorer now or in the offseason as just that. And what is wrong with now? Vanek, Pomminville - available. Tick Effing Tock.

Posted by
RedMenace
from the Church of Jesus Lashoff on 04/02/13 at 04:08 PM ET

Internet tough guy is so tough.

Posted by gt500x on 04/02/13 at 05:05 PM ET

There was nothing “tough” about my comment. Go back and troll HFBoards some more.

Posted by
RedMenace
from the Church of Jesus Lashoff on 04/02/13 at 04:10 PM ET

My problem with the whole thing is Kenny constantly talking out of both sides of his mouth. Every summer we hear we need to hang on to cap space for the trade deadline, and then at the trade deadline we hear prices are too high right now, we need to wait until the summer. And it’s been the same for several years. That says to me I’m too scared to do anything. Unacceptable.

Posted by John W. from a bubble wrap cocoon on 04/02/13 at 04:57 PM ET

Completely agreed. The playoff streak seems to mean too much. We can’t risk losing it down the line for a cup run now apparently. Which to me is just… I’d like us to be braver than that.

Why is it such a bad thing to demand a better product? And why speak as if -everyone- wants this or that? I have said time and time again that I don’t want blockbuster trades. I want the team to cut ties with the has-beens and sell the UFAs that they -know- aren’t coming back? I’m not the only one that has said something to that affect but the “all you spoiled, foolish big trade wanting fans are wrong”-guys like to ignore that. Why? Hell if I know. Perhaps it’s because it’s harder to defend the powers that be for not selling what they can and shedding dead weight. Far be it for us to see something reasonable to demand changes of. We should simply shut up and continue chugging the Red Wings kool-aid while dishing out cash for overpriced tickets.

Datsyuk is, by many accounts, one of the best players in the league - and arguably the best two-way player the league has seen in quite some time. He is just magical.

The rumblings suggest next season may be his last in the NHL. Regardless, this summer he will be 35 y/o. Anyway you look at it, there just aren’t many miles left.

What just chafes my ass is that, it doesn’t appear a shit-ton is being done to give Datsyuk a better winger this season. DET only have like $7 mil of cap space this year (and it isn’t like they get to carry it forward).

Holland must like kicking tires, because that is all he has done for the past five years.

and I actually agree with everything in your last post. But RxM is good people and I don’t think his post you quoted merited the dig at him, but I’m sure you can see that by now since you seem like you got a good head on your shoulders.. at least a head that I seem to agree with on this particular topic which is good enough for me

I’ve been reading this blog and comments for quite some time now. I don’t see where anyone is abandoning the team. People are frustrated and commenting as such. Perhaps calling this fan base twitchy and bipolar is as much an over reaction to the comments as you claim the comments themselves to be.

For example there is no future here for guys like White and Filpula, no future here for guys like Cleary, why can’t the Wings get something for them.

Posted by bababooey on 04/02/13 at 04:45 PM ET

Holland said as much that its hard to see guys go. He’s too attached. Too nice. Too soft. Whatever it is he lost his business sense

Posted by
Vladimir16
from Grand River Valley on 04/02/13 at 04:59 PM ET

HD, DrD and the other Kenny/Babs apologists remind me of this curmudgeon that lived down the block from me in the very early 70’s. Viet Nam was still raging. He and his son would get into these knock-down-drag-out yelling matches about the war and the draft. The old man’s answer to everything was “America, love it or leave it.” And his definition of love was never criticising the judgment of your leaders.

That’s who you Kenny apologists remind me of. God forbid anyone should question anything Kenny or Babs do. And somehow, we who question the Brain Trust and Babs, are lesser Wings fans than you? Well, I lived through the Dead Things era. I was a fan then and I’m still a fan. Where the heck were all you guys the other day when the team was getting blasted by the Hawks? That LB was awful thin in the second and third periods. I was there to the bitter end.

I remember the last season of the Dead Things era. Harry Neale and Brad Park were the coaches that season. Jimmy D wasn’t afraid to fire a coach in the middle of a season. The optimism of drafting Yzerman had long faded and 85-86 was going to be one of the worst seasons in Wings history. I was home from college and went to a Wings/Hawks Saturday night tilt at the Joe. The place was filled with Hawks fans because the Bears were playing the Lions at the Silverdome the next day. The 1985 Bears. It’s the only time I have feared for my life at a home game of any kind. Harry was fired few days later. The Wings have only missed the playoffs once since that horrific seaso.

Don’t tell me, Kate, Master Chief, HTT, Okie, RWBil, Cal or any of the other old farts (sorry, I’m sure I left a few out) around here that we don’t love our Wings.bSo HD, DrD, and anyone else that doesn’t like passionate, life-long fans criticising their team, go find another sand box to piss in. I was a fan before you were a glint in yo daddy’s eye and I’ll be a fan long after you break your leg jumping off the bandwagon when the playoff streak comes to an inglorious end.

Posted by
Vladimir16
from Grand River Valley on 04/02/13 at 05:11 PM ET

I get frustrated with Holland & company too at times, but I just think that Red Wing fans have been spoiled for so long, that many of them completely lose perspective.

I get it, because their teams are winning NOW, the GMs in Boston, Anaheim, Chicago, Montreal and Pittsburgh are all better than The Wings brass: 1 + 1 must equal 2…except that in the cap world, these empires are built up very quickly and dismantled very quickly with a very short window to win it all. All of those teams mentioned had to suck the cellar for extended periods of time to bank high first round draft picks and get a shot at the Cup and yet all of them have a very small window to win one otherwise, the cap system will force them to sell of a lot of good players in their prime and basically start over.

The Wings came within a game of winning back to back championships in 2009 and in the cap era, only Pittsburgh can say that. In my opinion, they’ve actually been rebuilding ever since: drafting well (despite their poor draft position), finding great young players like Lashoff and Brunner and saying good bye to one of the greatest players to play the game.

You can be frustrated with losing, he we all are, but don’t lose total perspective. This team has a lot of good young talent and are going into the summer with a good amount of cap space (and assets) to make some big impact trades and/or UFA signings. They might not be doing things exactly the way I would - but I can see where they are going with this rebuild and I’m sure that a lot of the “dead wood” like White, Fil, Carlo and Sammy will be purged this summer.

Personally, I can’t wait to see what they do with what will likely be the 17th to 19th pick in what’s looking like a deep draft. Stay passionate, be frustrated, but keep it together people - yes, it sucks now, but it’s going to be okay people, trust me…

I don’t remember saying I love everything that KH & Company do…you clearly breezed past a lot of what I did say, because you are just a little troll looking to stir up a lot of negative crap…go back and reread it again, this time with your aluminum foil hat on.

And by the way, George—before I forget again—I compare GM’s to the President of the U.S. We can sit here and try to spare our President the brunt of the blame by saying that they don’t make decisions alone, but in the end one person receives the blame for everything that goes wrong and one person is praised when things go right. It’s pointless to keep telling us to not blame only Ken Holland for the situation this team is in. He wears the Captain’s hat. He goes down with the ship.

and I actually agree with everything in your last post. But RxM is good people and I don’t think his post you quoted merited the dig at him, but I’m sure you can see that by now since you seem like you got a good head on your shoulders.. at least a head that I seem to agree with on this particular topic which is good enough for me

I’m not asking people to not be pissed off. Pissed off is fine. Screaming past each other is not.

A) The reason internet chats/comment sections were invented was to allow people to scream past each other. Welcome to the 21st Century.

B) An argument that has been brought up many times is along the lines of “One move won’t fix it. We’re several players away”. Ok. Fine. I agree. But what happens when a team is down 3 or 4 goals? What gets preached over and over on the bench and on the broadcasts and around the stands? “Don’t try to get it all at once. Just get one, then go out and get the next one, then go out and get the next one, etc…”
What raises the ire of some of us (if I’m SENSING this correctly) is that we feel like the Wings are down a few goals in the grand scheme of the hockey universe. And instead of trying to go out and get that first goal - to make a move to get that first player/pick that will get us closer to our opponents - it seems like Kenny Holland is content to just sit in a defensive shell and occasionally just clear the puck out of the zone from time to time.
Without that first team-improving move, we can’t make a 2nd team-improving move and the we sure as heck can’t make a 3rd team-improving move…and that is what is driving some of us a little nutty.

Posted by
SYF
from the C7.R, flyin' low and feelin' mean on 04/02/13 at 06:37 PM ET

As far as the Brass goes.. Truly, it’s whatever. Get your hopes up. Don’t get your hopes up. Get mad, frustrated, angry, irate, insane, or whatever term you choose to you.. but fact of the matter. No matter how pissy one gets.. you, me, or any other poster, troll or not, our opinions don’t fuching matter to the brass that runs the Red Wings.

Personally, I think its time for Holland to go if he can’t make the clear choice because he’s to attached. Hockey is a Business. And if you want to succeed, you have to trim the fat. Fact of Life.

About The Malik Report

The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.